¿What about bullying?¿ An experimental field study to understand students¿ attitudes towards bullying and victimization in Italian middle schools

Background. Attitudes towards bullying at school are influential in understanding and preventing bullying behaviour but they should be measured with reference to the particular conditions under which bullying takes place. Aims. To establish how far positive and negative judgments of bullying and victims and blaming of the victim vary according to the gender of observers, gender of bullies and of victims and whether the bullying took place alone or in group. Sample. Participants were 117 students (49 boys and 68 girls), aged 11–12, recruited from a middle school in Italy randomly allocated to one of four independent groups according to experimental condition: bullying alone among girls, bullying alone among boys, bullying in groups among girls, bullying in groups among boys. Method. Participants watched one of four versions of a video according to experimental condition showing a brief standardized bullying episode taking place at a school; they then had to fill in a self-report questionnaire measuring the dependent variables: respondents’ positive or negative judgments towards the bully and the victim shown in the video and how far the victim was blamed for what had happened. Results. Overall, results indicate students have positive attitudes towards the victims of bullying and tend not to blame them for what has happened. However, same gender identification lead girls to blame male victims more than female victims and the reverse applies in case of boys providing their judgments. A bully acting alone is considered stronger and braver than when acting in a group. Conclusions. The limits and potential of the study are presented with special attention to implications for intervention strategies in school by focusing on the role observers could play in supporting the victims and discouraging the bullie

Animal abuse and exposure to interparental violence in Italy: assessing the cycle of Violence in youngsters.

Abuse against animals is an indicator of children's maladjustment associated with domestic violence. This study empirically assesses the effects of exposure to interparental violence on animal abuse in 1,392 Italian youth aged 9 to 17. Results indicate that half of all youth ever abused animals, with boys more often involved than girls. Almost half of the whole sample has been exposed to violence by fathers against mothers or by mothers against fathers, with no gender differences. Results are in line with the social learning theory model, indicating that the strongest predicting variable for animal abuse is exposure to violence against animals by peers and by mothers. The only-exposed group is more negatively affected by parental violence against the animal; the abuse-exposed group is more negatively influenced by mothers' violence against animals and fathers. Results are critically discussed with a focus on plausible intervention strategies

Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): testing galaxy formation models through the most massive galaxies in the Universe

We have analysed the growth of Brightest Group Galaxies and Brightest Cluster Galaxies (BGGs/BCGs) over the last 3 billion years using a large sample of 883 galaxies from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly survey. By comparing the stellar mass of BGGs and BCGs in groups and clusters of similar dynamical masses, we find no significant growth between redshift z = 0.27 and 0.09. We also examine the number of BGGs/BCGs that have line emission, finding that approximately 65 per cent of BGGs/BCGs show Hα in emission. From the galaxies where the necessary spectroscopic lines were accurately recovered (54 per cent of the sample), we find that half of this (i.e. 27 per cent of the sample) harbour ongoing star formation with rates up to 10 M⊙ yr−1, and the other half (i.e. 27 per cent of the sample) have an active nucleus (AGN) at the centre. BGGs are more likely to have ongoing star formation, while BCGs show a higher fraction of AGN activity. By examining the position of the BGGs/BCGs with respect to their host dark matter halo, we find that around 13 per cent of them do not lie at the centre of the dark matter halo. This could be an indicator of recent cluster–cluster mergers. We conclude that BGGs and BCGs acquired their stellar mass rapidly at higher redshifts as predicted by semi-analytic models, mildly slowing down at low redshifts

School dropout, problem behaviour and poor academic achievement : a longitudinal view of portuguese male offenders

This study examines school drop outs from the perspective of male adults themselves through interviews with offenders currently serving sentences. Participants were 10 Portuguese male inmates, between the ages of 19 and 46 years of age, incarcerated in two prison facilities of the Azores. Qualitative and interpretative methods were carried out using a semi-structured in-depth individual interview that was audiorecorded and conducted on the basis of a list of topics. Interview transcripts and thematic analysis were used in data treatment and analysis. The findings primarily indicate that poor academic achievement and emotional and behavioural difficulties of participants played a particular role in early school drop out. The trajectories these individuals followed within the education system presented problem behaviour, learning disabilities, and/or foster care interventions. While school drop out circumstances were apparently various, analysis showed that they were underpinned by three distinct sets of conditions generally not addressed by the education system. The analysis of the triggering factors and the maintenance dynamics of school drop outs indicated three distinct types: retention/absenteeism, life turning points and positive resolution. Implications for secondary prevention and screening practices are discussed.FCT (SFRH/ BD/ 44245/ 2008)CIEC - unidade de investigação 317 da FC

"It does affect me” Disruptive behaviors in preadolescents directly and indirectly abused at home

Aggressive and delinquent behaviors in preadolescents may be indicators of problems suffered at home from direct child abuse by one or both parents or indirect abuse, such as exposure to domestic violence. A total of 532 Italian preadolescents recruited in their schools took part in this study. They completed a self-report questionnaire measuring direct child abuse from mothers and fathers, exposure to mother-to-father and father-to-mother violence, and externalizing delinquent and aggressive behaviors. Results indicated high levels of delinquent and aggressive behavior, compared to normative data, as well as high levels of reported direct and indirect family abuse. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated an independent significant effect for gender, mother- to-father violence, and both paternal child abuse and maternal child abuse. Discussion includes the importance of addressing externalizing problems of adolescents as indicators of family-related abuse, which may require multiple interventions and coordination between different agencies that work with children